Honest work

[resonant]

The maintenance manager at my church is a guy named Alex who can fix anything.

I sat in for the church secretary a while back, and every day I'd go home with some story about some odd thing that went wrong. I told the kidlet so many stories about crazy phone calls that now they have a comedy act every time they hear Alex's name: "Alex! A giant hole has opened up in the back lawn!" "Alex! There's a raccoon in the Sunday School building!" "Alex! Somebody spray-painted something on the shed, and none of us know what it means!"

I was working with Alex the year the bed kept breaking, and he had all sorts of suggestions as to how we could fix it. It's a shame my eyes glaze over when anyone utters words like "solder" or "shim" or "machine shop," because I'm sure his way of doing it would have been much faster than mine.

Basically my impression of Alex is that in a post-apocalyptic future, he'd be the one who figured out how to get the water purified and stop the roofs from leaking and stuff like that. Whereas I'd better hope I'm not too old to be a wetnurse, because otherwise I have no other skills and might end up as meat.

Anyway, the newsletter editor asked me to interview Alex for a profile, but I had an oddly difficult time getting him to respond. He wouldn't return phone calls, he wouldn't set a date, he wouldn't do anything until I called in the help of the secretary, who's apparently scarier than I am. But I finally got to do the interview yesterday.

Do you know why Alex didn't want to be interviewed? "Because I'm 31 years old and working as a custodian."

It never ceases to amaze me what people figure they ought to be proud of and ashamed of.

edited 2020 to retroactively correct the kidlet's gender pronouns

Comments

[maryavatar.livejournal.com]

Oh God, I laughed so hard at the wetnurse/meat bit my kids just piled though the door yelling "What is it? Is it something good? Can we read it, or is it rude? I'm old enough to read rude things!"

Hey, can I metaquote it?

I'm trying to think what my post-apocalyptic skills would be. I can crochet, build dry-stone dykes, identify a lot of poisonous things, and shove my hand up a sheep without screaming.

[smallbeer.livejournal.com]

My neighborhood's disaster preparedness plan is in its infancy, and there was a meeting last night to discuss some basics. We all filled out a sheet with our basic info and answered some questions, including "in the event, where can you volunteer your services?" with answers like "repair and construction", "first aid/medical", "search and rescue", and I thought OMG I HAVE NO USEFUL SKILLS. Was finally able to circle "cooking/food preparation", which would probably mean something like ripping the covers off of MREs. I am completely envious of the Alexes of this world.

[celandineb.livejournal.com]

There's something wrong with a system in which someone who does good, useful, productive work feels that it's shameful.

[lillian78.livejournal.com]

I must know a thousand people who *should* be ashamed of the things they've done in life. Alex not so much. He's a smart, hardworking guy. I'd snap him up in a second. He should be proud rather than ashamed of himself. Go Alex!

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

He's definitely someone to have on your team when you play "Who Do I Invite to My Apocalypse".

And don't worry, people with child-wrangling skills are always in demand.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

This is sort of sweet. It is amazing what are other people's demons. And then it might put our own demons in perspective.

Alex Dex!

[mordyn4]

See, I was laughing at this: otherwise I have no other skills and might end up as meat

And then you said this: It never ceases to amaze me what people figure they ought to be proud of and ashamed of.

When I close my eyes and imagine my dream job I'm holding a pair of pruning shears amidst rows of grape vines. It took 5 years of grad school to realize that I didn't have to have the PhD to be happy. That in fact, having the PhD and feeling compelled to use it constructively would make me unhappy. My mother's exactly like Alex, and feels the same way about herself that he does. Yet it's this aspect of her that I respect the most, that I would like to emulate. Imagine how I feel when she says, "I just don't want you to end up like me, honey."

Mom's coming from the other coast to visit tomorrow, so all of this is on my mind.

Thanks for sharing this story, a bit cathartic really. M.

[(Anonymous)]

*delurks*

Oh, I know how you feel! My mother says, "I'm so proud of you - you're DOING something with your life. I just take care of your father," and I think, "You designed and built a staircase. You held a job and raised 2 kids and a Big Kid (my dad). You rebuilt an engine. You started a business from the ground up (while raising 2 kids and a Big Kid), and you still managed to get food on the table most nights."

Here's to Alexes and mothers everywhere!

[jimpage363.livejournal.com]

We had an "Alex" at one temple I worked at. His name was, of all things, Wagner, and he was from Venezuela. He could fix anything and do it with a smile! I think we could all use a Wagner or an Alex -- and they should be damned proud of what they do.
Maybe your church needs to honor him in some way so that he knows how very valuable he is to the continued running of a house of worship?

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Whereas I'd better hope I'm not too old to be a wetnurse, because otherwise I have no other skills and might end up as meat.

I think I love you!

And Alex can be in my lifeboat any day. What on earth does it say about our over-educated world that some one should be ashamed of being the one person everyone else turns to? Ack.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

Once you've published the interview, you might tell me if and what else he might want to do (instead/later)? It's a constant ... bother these days, where we are "only" expected to make the most of ourselves.

[wolfiekins.livejournal.com]

"Post apocalyptic future skills"

Sounds like a line on that disaster preparedness survey. Heh.

Visions of Mel Gibson and Tina Turner in THUNDERDOME spring to mind...I fear that my meager carpentry skills wouldn't be enough to save me from the grist mill...

And Celandine summed it up perfectly. It used to be honourable to hold a job and do it well. Long gone sentiments, I'm afraid. And I can empathize with Alex just a little; you should see the expressions I get when people ask me what I do, and I say I work in a factory...

[the-star-fish.livejournal.com]

Dude, I type contracts for a timeshare resort ... now that's shameful. Alex sounds great ... is he taken?

(only half-kidding)

[neery.livejournal.com]

It's so sad that people don't feel allowed to be happy with the useful, admirable jobs they're good at, just because they work with their hands -- as if that somehow meant that their mind is less useful.

"What could I do in a post-apocalypotic world" is one of the questions that I've always liked to think about -- to the point where I took special care to memorize really useful-for-survival skill, even though I do not actually expect the apocalypse any time soo.

By now, I could probably make a generator or an engine powered with electricity (same thing in reverse), I can distill alcohol and make ether (useful for those post-apocalyptic operations without proper anesthetics), and I can change the tyres on my car (okay, so that last one would only be useful until the gas runs out for good, but still.)

[jelazakazone.livejournal.com]

Alex's job just needs to be renamed -- church Macguyver or something along those lines:)

[giglet.livejournal.com]

I grew up believing that the two major requirements of a useful adupt were being able to control one's temper and being competent at practical engineering (which is really what Alex does). By that definition, I know an awful lot of people making an awful lot of money that aren't adults. But income is *such* a big deal in our society.

On the other hand, I can identify with Alex. I'm working for a landscaper (ie, I'm the person on her hands and knees pulling weeds out of someone else's flowerbed). Although I enjoy doing the work when I'm doing it in my yard... some part of me is ashamed that, at my age, the best hourly wage I've got is not using any of my white-collar skills, or anything I learned in college, but stuff I learned when I was 8 years old.

[sanj.livejournal.com]

I totally hear that -- I'm considering going back into retail, which is what I did in high school, for crying out loud -- but I loved it, and I could make just as much money there as I am now, wilting in a cubicle as a temp secretary.

But there's always this voice in my head that beats me up for failing to be a corporate executive, even though I never, for a minute, actually wanted to be one.

Life and work are weird, funny things.

[sanj.livejournal.com]

It never ceases to amaze me what people figure they ought to be proud of and ashamed of.

This makes me think, a lot, about work and priorities and how we end up getting defined by our job titles instead of by what we're capable of.

I'm glad you finally got to interview him, because he sounds wonderful.

We play "invite me to your apocalypse" a lot. I can change diapers and chop vegetables, but beyond that, not so much. Unless you need something alphabetized.

[neery.livejournal.com]

Oh, you could be in my apocalypse! I cannot alphabetize to save my life. (Admittedly, I would be a mostly useless apocalyptic companion.)

[thessaliad.livejournal.com]

My mom, bless her heart, was an old-fashioned woman and a bit of a female chauvinist. She would always say: "Hon, men are good for two things: fixing things and making babies. If they can't do the first, don't bother with the second."

Needless to say, my husband does both quite well, and he's valued at our church for being able to fix *anything*.

[margueritem.livejournal.com]

Because my mind is always on fandom-setting, I thought, "Atlantis could use an Alex".

[neery.livejournal.com]

Does Atlantis not already have an Alex? I mean, McKay's no custodian, but he does the fixing thing pretty well.

[caseylane.livejournal.com]

My ex is an Alex and even though I have a degree and work in management I always loved his ability to fix anything. I used to feel really secure knowing that if the apocalypse came my family would do well. sadly he couldn't fix his drinking

In my family having a degree is expected yet, thank goodness, having a good work ethic is much more highly prized.

Oh, and your meat comment made me actually laugh out loud.

[adannu.livejournal.com]

Go, Alex!

If you can get the wool off the sheep for me, I can turn it into scarves and blankies for you via spinning and knitting, with a spot of crochet. And I have a certain amount of project management skills, so I could be the Assistant Organizer of Things. I can cook without burning the house down, although I'd prefer baking dessert. Uhm. Find me a manual typewriter and I can whip out the next Great American Novel. ;)

[incredulity.livejournal.com]

This made me well up a little, because my dad was an Alex.